Improved life-boat



- UNITED VSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM HUGHES, OF WAUPUN, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO HIMSELF AND JOHN FIELDSTAD.

IMPROVED LIFE-BOAT.

Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 56,855, dated July 31, 1866.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM HUGHES, of Waupun, Fond du Lac county, in the State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and Improved Life-Boat; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull and exact description thereof, reference being had to the acco mpan yin gdrawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The nature of my invention consists in providing a life or other boat with two chambers on or between its sides, one for water and one for air, the latter above the former, the object being that of safety.

4To enable others skilled in the art to make anduse my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation, like parts being designated by like letters in the several igures.

In the drawings, Figure l represents an elevation of my boat, and Fig. 2 a cross-section on line a b.

On each side of the boat, and extending fore and aft of the dividing-line of its length, I construct two chambers or apartments, A and B, the former below the latter, and separated from each other by a partition, O. These chan1 bers may occupy from one-half to three-tifths of the length of the boat. The lower apartment will be more or less tilled with water, ac cording to the draft of the boat. There are holes a through the bottom of this chamberthe water in when the boat does not sit in the Water deep enough to let it in through the openin g a at the top of the chamber,`

The top chamber, B, is an air-chamber, so the one acts as a buoy and the other as ballast, and they co-operate to keep the beat from capsizing, and this co-operation takes place, not on the same side ot the boat, but on different sides; for in case of tipping, while the walten chamber on one side acts as a ballast to keep down that side, the air-chamber on the other side acts as a buoy to keep its side up, thus preserving', as far as possible, an equilibrium.

Air enters the upper chamber through the opening ct". Y

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

A boat having the two chambers A and on each side, the former being a Water-chamber, open at bottom ct and at top al, as also the latter being an air-chamber, open at bottom a, the two having a partition, O, between them, arranged, constructed, and co-operatin g in the manner described, and for thepurpose set forth.

WILLIAM HUGHES. Witnesses:

J oHN WARE, v B. LYoNs. 

